


Just the Facts, Ma'am

by Lera_Myers



Category: Mass Effect: Andromeda
Genre: Eavesdropping, F/F, Mass Effect Kink Meme, Mutual Masturbation, Public Masturbation, Quiet, Ryder is awkward, Sharing a Room
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-20
Updated: 2017-04-20
Packaged: 2018-10-21 09:53:51
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,120
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10682889
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lera_Myers/pseuds/Lera_Myers
Summary: A minor equipment malfunction forces Ryder to spend the night in the Tempest crew quarters. Her science officer's evening routine soon creates a new problem.





	Just the Facts, Ma'am

**Author's Note:**

> Written for [a prompt](http://masseffectkink.livejournal.com/9940.html?thread=46055124#t46055124) at the Mass Effect Kink Meme.

Okay, so maybe Sara should’ve been embarrassed to realize she didn’t know the bunk assignments on her own ship, and not just because she couldn’t find the one she was supposed to occupy tonight. She’d figured on there being names labeled or something. Barring that, process of elimination should’ve worked - it was pretty late, and most of the beds were full. Of course, that assumed your crew _all_ actually slept normal hours.

She squinted at the mattresses in the dim light. It was probably assigned alphabetically, right? Could guess - _and beg forgiveness if I turn out to be wrong? Yeah, no. Well. Maybe?_ Vetra would be asleep by now, and as much as Ryder didn’t want to wake her, she didn’t relish the idea of explaining to a random person why the Pathfinder had accidentally fallen asleep in their bed.

The door hissed open, interrupting her silent debate. She reflexively turned to look over her shoulder and grinned. “Suvi. Hi.”

“Ryder?” The science officer kept her voice low as she crossed the room, mindful of the sleeping crew around them. “Is everything all right?”

“Yeah, totally.” She glanced back at the wall, hoping the darkness hid her sudden blush at being caught in this situation. _Still, could save us some further embarrassment. I mean me._  “Which bunk is Vetra’s?”

“It’s just there.” Suvi indicated a top pod, to the side of the crew info board. “Right above mine.”

 _‘Above mine.’ Which means that one’s hers. Which means I’m gonna be sleeping above her._ Sara tore her gaze from the lower bunk too quickly, flashing a shy smile. “Uh - nice stuffies.”

“Thanks.”

God, what was it about talking to Suvi that turned her into a stammering idiot? Ryder closed her eyes in a silent groan before boosting herself up the ladder into the top bunk. It was only when her weight hit the mattress she realized the other woman’s curious gaze was still on her.

“Are you looking for something?” came the distinct Scottish accent.

 _Right. Should have actually explained. Shit, she’s gotta think I’m out of my mind. Or stalking. Or something, I dunno!_ “No, I’m sleeping in here tonight.” She eyed the bedsheets, grateful Suvi had occupied herself searching through her own bag. “Something happened to the temperature controls. My room’s way too hot. So Vetra’s sleeping in my bunk, and I’m in here. Just for tonight, ‘till Gil fixes the problem. Which he’s doing tomorrow.”

Suvi smiled up at her, unbothered by the rambling. “Vetra must be happy. All that space.”

“Yeah! Well, advantages of being turian. The heat doesn’t get to her the way it gets to us. I mean me. I mean humans.”

Below her, the science officer gathered a towel, loose shirt, and sweatpants before getting to her feet.

Sara flopped back onto the mattress. “So, uh. Night.”

“Sleep well, Ryder,” Suvi sang, tossing a smile over her shoulder as she vanished into the bathroom.

 _God she’s cute_.

The Pathfinder allowed herself a moment to grin into the darkness before curling up under Vetra’s covers. It was hard not to feel like a light sleeper; no one had so much as stirred during the earlier conversation, but how it hadn’t woken them all up felt like a mystery to her. The sound of so many people breathing was louder than she’d expected, punctuated by occasional mumbles spilling from unconscious lips. From the bathroom, shower water began spilling onto the tile, the noise muffled by a closed door.

 _Gonna be a long night_.

SAM’s smooth voice cut in over their private connection. _“Pathfinder, the noise should not be much longer. Dr. Anwar routinely avoids having her showers exceed the allotted hot-water limit per person.”_

Ryder snorted, but her lips turned up in a grimace. Giving any thought to Suvi’s showering habits was decidedly _not_ going to keep her mind from racing. “SAM…leave me alone for the night,” she muttered into her pillow. “I’ll talk to you in the morning, okay?”

_“Acknowledged.”_

Still, when the water shut off soon after, she couldn’t help thinking he’d been right. The shower was quick, and the rest of Suvi’s nightly routine mercifully quiet (voices always echoed off those bathroom walls something awful). She was at least comfortable, if not beginning to relax, by the time the door opened and footsteps padded back to the bunk below her. Some shuffling, blankets drawn back and then up over a warm body - things settled within a few minutes, and Sara was just starting to doze when she heard the first gasp.

It was a tiny thing, more of a sharp inhale, just loud enough to pull her back from the edge of sleep. There was a bit of shifting, some rustled cloth. Almost like Suvi was fidgeting in an attempt to get comfortable, or… No, she wasn’t, was she?

A quiet, content sigh. The rustling continued with purpose.

That was - yes. When you added up the pieces, the woman below her was definitely, um, _indulging herself_. Probably thought everyone was asleep, and Sara really should let her know she was wrong. Should maybe cough or make an excuse to get up, something to snap her out of it without embarrassing them both too much, but she couldn’t make herself move. If she lay perfectly still and listened hard, she could hear flesh rubbing against soft material, rhythmic and almost undetectable.

Her breathing was controlled, so close to normal Sara began to doubt what she’d heard, until the noise was replaced with lips parting, a gentle smack that suggested Suvi sucking on her fingers to wet them, then more skin-on-cloth noises and the sound of someone burying their face in the pillow.

What was she thinking about? Who was she picturing? A past encounter, or maybe a fantasy? Or she could be focused just on sensation, drawing it out a little. In the next pod, Jaal snored with a thunder that should have blocked out any noise, but nothing could distract her from what was going on in Suvi’s bunk.

 _She’s practiced at this._ Heat trickled into Ryder’s stomach and lower, all thoughts of sleep gone as the realization sank in. It couldn’t have been a one-time thing. The movements were too careful, too quiet. Did she do this every night? A few times a week? How many times had she laid there touching herself while the rest of the crew slept, oblivious? That shouldn’t be so hot.

An answering throb dampened the crotch of her pajamas as if in protest. Instinctively, she pressed a hand between her thighs to relieve the pressure, and a shudder ran up her spine. It had been over a week since she’d taken the time to masturbate, a gap that seemed like ages now.

Pulling that hand away to fist in the sheets took every shred of her willpower. _Come on, Pathfinder, get ahold of yourself. You’re in_ ** _Vetra’s_** _bunk, not yours. And eavesdropping like this is creepy. And there’s people all around…_

The soft moan that tumbled from Suvi’s mouth served as a reminder that last fact wasn’t stopping _some_ people. As far as incriminating noises went, it wasn’t the worst, but Sara still heard her freeze as if checking to make sure no one had woken. Maybe twenty seconds of silence, and then the rubbing noise began again, accompanied by the sound of Suvi pulling in a breath and holding it.

 _Oh, God_. It was so easy to picture her, the muscles of her arm flexing where a hand would disappear into her pants, hair still damp from the shower, face scrunched in concentration from holding back those cries she so clearly wanted to let loose. Would her other hand be gripping the sheet to steady herself? Tucked under her head to create a slightly more convincing illusion of sleep? Maybe stuffed into her mouth just in case another moan slipped through? _If it were me getting her off, I’d make her scream_ \- and the thought was Sara’s undoing. Rolling onto her stomach, she slid an arm under herself and past her waistband, the last shreds of her resolve gone. She could be quiet; she’d never been one for loud solo sessions.

It took a few circles to tease the feeling in her clit from an ache of frustration into a warm tingle that made her thighs spread wider. Ordinarily she preferred to draw out her pleasure, take the time to enjoy herself, but she didn’t have that luxury tonight. Every extra minute was a higher chance of getting caught. She slid her fingers down just enough to coat them in her own wetness, the slippery texture urging her body on.

A muted thump came from the other side of the room as Liam rolled over, tossing a pillow from his bunk onto the floor without ever fully waking up. It should have killed the mood realizing how close she was to being found out, but somehow that just made Sara’s heart beat faster.

 _I wonder how she likes to be touched_.

If there had been a discreet way to peek over the edge of the mattress, Sara might have risked it. As it was, she was left with her imagination. _Suvi with her head tipped back against the pillow and her legs spread wide. Her fingers rubbing tight circles over her clit, other hand rucking up her shirt to squeeze a firm breast, spine arching into both touches. Those same fingers exploring, playing over her slit, then pushing past her entrance as she crooks one inside to fuck herself, adds another, grinds against her palm and her muscles clamp down tighter, tight, so tight…_

The sounds below her were growing less discreet, Suvi’s breathing a little harsher, her arm occasionally nudging the wall from how hard she was working herself. Ryder clenched her teeth to hold back the groan building in her throat. Her stomach muscles were already taut; for once, she was glad she wouldn’t last long. Every pass over her entrance prompted a squelching noise she was sure the whole room could hear, and it set her heart pounding, _fuck that’s good_. Dragging the hand not in her pants out from under herself so she could pinch a clothed nipple, she struggled to focus on the noises coming from Suvi’s bunk.

Even as close as she was, the other woman hadn’t completely given up the ghost. Sara could hear her pause just long enough to tug the blankets further up, a grunt of pleasure that could have passed as a sleepy sound escaping when she went back to work feverishly. It made Ryder’s hips jerk involuntarily, aching for the opportunity to ride her pillow or at least her hand. Her thighs tensed.

 _Please_.

Another bump of an elbow against the wall, a sharp inhale, and - Suvi _must_ be biting down on something as she came, because the cry that tore itself from her throat was only halfway muffled. Those few seconds seemed to last forever, and then she let out a long breath as she relaxed into the mattress, apparently sated. It only took a few more circles for Sara to follow her over that edge. The mental picture of Suvi in orgasm, face screwed up and body tensing, left her shuddering through her own climax. Jaal’s continued snoring was all that mercifully covered up the sound of her breath hissing out between her teeth.

She melted into the pod, wringing a few aftershocks from her body before slipping her hand into her mouth to clean it. The _last_ thing she needed to do was leave Vetra’s bunk smelling like her.

A pleasant, warm heaviness settled over her limbs, and she curled into a ball, letting herself go down into sleep.

 

* * *

Sara had never been an early riser, and the noise of others getting up and getting ready for the day did nothing to change that except make her pull a pillow over her head. As a result, by the time she stumbled onto the bridge with a sleepy ‘good morning’ nod to Suvi and Kallo, Gil had been at work for a while already. The comm came in as she was working the galaxy map’s scanner.

_“Hey, Ryder? It’s Gil. Think we solved the heating issue in your room.”_

“Yeah?” She rubbed her eyes, smiling. “Awesome. It’s back to normal?”

_“Should be. Let me know if anything odd happens and I’ll get on it. Hope last night wasn’t too rough.”_

She shook her head, forgetting he couldn’t see her. “Last night was just fine. Pretty pleasurable, actually.”

(And, well - if Suvi’s cheeks colored and her eyes got the tiniest bit wider, Sara could hardly be to blame for it, could she?)


End file.
